Grad schools rise in rankings

The College of William and Mary Law School, School of Education and Mason School of Business all improved their standings in the 2010 U.S. News & World Report’s graduate school rankings. The law school moved up two spots and is now tied with George Washington Law School for 28th.

The School of Education climbed to 48th, tying with both Purdue University — West Lafayette and University of Illinois — Chicago. The business school program is now ranked 55th among similar graduate programs in the country.

The College’s colonial history graduate program was ranked fourth in the United States. U.S. News and World Report ranks doctoral programs, like the College’s colonial history program, every four years by discipline.

“It’s always great to see one part or another of William and Mary improve in the U.S. News sweepstakes,” College President Taylor Reveley said in an e-mail. “While these rankings leave a lot to be desired as accurate measures of quality, they do command a faithful following. Thus, the university needs to do well in them, and it’s refreshing to see our business, education and law schools on the move in the right direction.”

The U.S. News and World Report annually assesses business, education, engineering, law and medicine graduate programs. This year’s rankings were officially released Wednesday, and the full report will be available for purchase April 28.